


Regrets

by dragons_SRSunn



Series: Insights [8]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: The New Prophecy: Book 1: Midnight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 15:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30124833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragons_SRSunn/pseuds/dragons_SRSunn
Summary: That last Gathering.
Series: Insights [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877074
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Regrets

**Author's Note:**

> This was really written by a friend who was too shy to get her own account.

That last Gathering he saw her at remained one of his last peaceful memories of the old forest. His last moons in the old forest were tainted, first by worry for his kits, then by worry for his Clan, and then, when Stormfur returned–

But that Gathering was calm. Well, not calm per se, but calm as in only familiar manageable problems, nothing a compromise or an explanation couldn't clear up.

He walked over to his kits, greeting them, breathing in their scent. When he first saw them, glancing around the clearing for him, fur lit by the light of the moon, he felt a jolt, startled, staring for a moment. Stormfur looked just like him, except for the eyes; everyone said so. But she–she looked _exactly_ like Silverstream. He almost thought it was her at first, come down from StarClan to speak to him. It was uncanny.

He spoke to them, and they to him, exchanging news, what had happened in the past moon since they'd seen each other. Mistyfoot did the three of them the favor of always putting his kits on patrols to the ThunderClan border, and, as ThunderClan deputy, he could assign himself onto whatever patrols he wanted, but apparently they'd kept missing each other; he hadn't seen either of them at the border over the past moon.

He introduced Leafpaw to her and Stormfur, proud, happy, thinking how wonderful it would be if his and Firestar's kits would be friends like him and Firestar.

(It wasn't _this_ daughter of Firestar that would befriend her and Stormfur, but he didn't know that yet.)

Reluctantly, he had parted from his kits and taken his place below the Great Rock as the leaders made the announcements, listening out for RiverClan, as he had since he'd first met Silverstream.

Just like the Gathering a moon ago, his kits-or one of them, anyway-featured in Leopardstar's news. Oh, he had been so proud of her and Stormfur-they had very well saved Leopardstar's life(especially considering what Leopardstar had done to them; he spoke to the RiverClan leader only when absolutely necessary, silently daring her to look him in the eye after what she had done to his kits. But his kits, they weren't like that, and he admired them for it.). Stormfur had chased off a bunch of rats. With Blackclaw, but he didn't like him much, and the black warrior returned the favor.

And there were two new RiverClan warriors, rogue-born, both of them. There were protestations, of course, but there was no reason to think that they wouldn't be loyal. As Leopardstar noted, if a kittypet could become Clan leader, couldn't rogues-who had been living with the Clan since kithood, according to Mistyfoot- become ordinary warriors? 

And he had known their mother-she was brave.

But for a rogue-born to become a medicine cat-that was different, wasn't it? But, as Leopardstar said, if a kittypet could become Clan leader, couldn't a rogue become a medicine cat?

But there was something that bothered him. He couldn't put his claw on it, but there was _something_ , something in the set of Hawkfrost's shoulders, in the amber glint of Mothwing's eyes, that set a chill through him.

She and Stormfur spoke only good things about Mothwing and Hawkfrost. Well, Stormfur at least seemed enthusiastic-she agreed with him, but avoided looking either of them in the eye; she did not speak overmuch about it and seemed relieved by any change in topic. There seemed to be a shadow in her gaze. 

He asked her if anything was wrong, and she said nothing was; she was fine; she had finally found her place in RiverClan. She seemed like she wanted to say something else, but, glancing up at the stars, did not.

He knew what she said was true; she wouldn't lie to him. (About this, anyway.)

He would mentally berate himself later, hating himself for not pressing, once he knew about her dream and when she had had it and what it led to....

But, except for the shadow in her gaze when she looked at the stars and Mothwing and Hawkfrost, she seemed fine, if a bit subdued.

Later, much later, when he found out the truth(he wondered what Leopardstar had felt when _she_ had found out the truth; it would be her just desserts, almost)he wondered if she had known. She was sensitive and smart and perceptive, just like her mother. Both of them picked up the undercurrents running through the Clan that he would be clueless to–had she known? Had she guessed?

(Was this why she had seemed to be becoming friends with Sasha–he had been so happy his daughter was finally talking to someone besides Stormfur and Mistyfoot, never mind if it was a rogue–and then suddenly just stopped talking about her and avoiding all mention of what had broken their friendship?)

Then Tallstar asked to use the river for his cats to drink, and she had felt bad for the WindClan cats who needed water, but, he knew, would be careful not to overly sympathize with another Clan. They were loyal to RiverClan, _only_ to RiverClan, nothing else(or were they?); they had learned that lesson well, and sometimes his claws could barely contain the desire to rip and tear and slash at the cats who had taught his kits this harsh lesson.

But she was kind, and sympathetic, and caring, and friendly, and nothing would ever change that.

The Gathering broke up, and he said goodbye to his kits, nuzzling their fur, breathing in their scent.

As each of them walked away with their respective Clans(the pain of this never fully went away)each of them looked back, once, locking eyes, and then left.

And Graystripe did not know yet then that this would be the last time he would see his daughter Feathertail alive.


End file.
